It is slightly unbelievable that I am sitting writing this last blog post a day before I am off to the airport to head home. These past three months have been filled with extremes. Extreme frustration and joy, chaos and understanding. I can’t believe how grateful I am to have this experience in the magical and complex country of India. Thank you Mom and Dad for allowing your baby girl to fly half way around the world to experience the unknown. Thank you for understanding my need to flee the country and for feeding my thirst for adventure. I am so lucky to have parents as understanding, supportive, and wise as you. Also I cannot thank you enough for helping me pay for the plain tickets, vaccines, and countless trips to REI. I truly have you to thank for this amazing experience. Also thank you Zach, the best big brother a little sister could dream of, for helping me through the extreme panic attacks I had before coming here. Your bear hugs and wise words have stayed with me this whole trip and have given me strength.
I couldn’t have had this one of a kind adventure without my trusty group and group leaders. Thank you so much for sharing these past three months with me and for going through the thick and thin together. I know it wasn’t easy to pull off 28 hour travel days with food poisoning or sleeping on train station floors more times than we would like to admit. But if I do say so myself, we came out the other side as warriors. You all have shaped my trip so much and I can already anticipate the lonely feeling of waking up and realizing one of you isn’t there to hear my dream in my seductive retainer lisp. You have all become something like family to me and I thank you for all the amazing memories that we share together. And also thank you Audrey and Jeremy for putting up with our crazy selves even when we could be cranky, demanding, or completely clueless. I know it must be extremely challenging leading 6 teenagers through India for 3 months and I have the up most respect for how gracefully you became our mentor and friends. I will miss our one and ones filled with amazing conversations, fire dancing, interpretive drawing, and dharma talk. So here is to my Carpe family, who not only survived but flourished in the extremes of India. I am happy to say I am leaving with my pockets overflowing with unforgettable stories and memories filled with all of you.